MP Falk opposes changes to national anthem
After many years of debate and several stalled bills in the House of Commons, a private members bill tabled in 2016 was finally approved by the Senate last week to change the second line in our national anthem.
The controversy is over two words in O Canada and will now see the line “in all thy sons command” replaced with the more gender-neutral “in all of us command.” The changing of the lyrics has been up for debate in the House of Commons since it was introduced by the late Mauril Belanger, a Liberal MP who passed away in 2016. Before his death Belanger wrote that he wanted “to pay tribute to all women who have fought to build and shape Canada.”
Battlefords-Lloydminster MP Rosemarie Falk told battlefordsNOW that she did not agree with the changes to the anthem. The bill was passed through the House before she was elected.
“Personally, I oppose the change and Canadians have told the members of Parliament that they were opposed as well but again the government refuses to listen,” Falk said. “The people have told us that our anthem is a symbol of our identity and it is important to them.”